ABSTRACT
This research work investigated Managerial Skills Required by Business Education Graduates for Employability in Medium Enterprises as Perceived by Business Educator in Asaba Metropolis. The major purpose of the study is to identify the managerial skills required by business education graduates for employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis. This study adopted descriptive survey research design; Four (4) research questions guided this study.
The population for this study was a total of Fifty-nine (59) lecturers from Business Education Department in Federal Colleges of Education (Technical), Asaba. The whole population was used. Questionnaire was used for data collation. A 22-item questionnaire was the research instrument. The questionnaire consists of two parts (1 and 2). Part one consist of preliminary information while part two consist of 22 structured questionnaire items on a four (4) point rating scale from Very High Extent (4) High Extent (3) Low Extent (2) Very Low Extent (1). The questionnaire was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and one other expert in Educational Psychological Department (Measurement and Evaluation). In testing for the reliability of the instrument, test – retest method was used. The instrument was administered to Ten (10) Business Education Lecturers from two College of Education in Anambra State. After a period of two weeks, the instrument was administered the second time and collected. The two tests were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to determine the degree of reliability and give a coefficient of 0.74 as the degree of reliability.
Data collated was analyzed descriptively using Mean statistics with a decision rule of 2.50.
The findings revealed that Business Education graduates required managerial skills to enable them successfully establish and manage a business enterprise of their own after graduation. Such managerial skills include: Financial management skills, human resources management skills, time management skills, and Information and Communication Technology skills. The study recommended that there is need for undergraduate in the business related programme to strive towards skill acquisition because, success and progress in the world of work and becoming self-employed or self-reliance is dependent on the amount of skills and abilities acquired. Also business education students and graduate should seek relevant professional training from recognized and registered professional bodies both local and international.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Business exists in different forms and sizes. Business can be undertaken on small scale, medium scale or large scale basis. Since the growth has been identified as one of the major business objective, it is rational to believe that a small business can grow to become large and when it is still growing it can be referred to as a medium scale business.
The terms medium scale business or medium scale enterprises varies in meaning from one country to another and from one industry to another. In Nigeria, the most used definition of medium scale business is based on ownership, structure, number of employee, capital annual turnover, nature of business and technology employed. The above definition share common idea with other countries that medium scale business are generally low in terms of number of persons employed and in the amount of investment and business turnover. Other major characteristics of medium scale business that are universally recognized include; they are typically medium scale business of limited access to financial resources, have simple management structure which generally combined ownership and management structure or generally combined ownership and one person. The medium scale business uses a lot of local inputs. As the ultimate goal of every business is to maximize profit, to remain in business, grow and diversify. The employers of labour will need creative and flexible graduates who have a board range of managerial skills, who are ready to face the challenge of increased competition, responsive to economic, social culture, technical and environmental changes. More than ever, graduates who are flexible and intelligent across business and understand the part they play in building their organizations and have practical skills to work effectively.
Glass (2018) found the majority of employers recruit individuals from universities specifically for the technical skills which they hope those individuals will bring to the organization. Contributing to the organization mean more than have the necessary technical skills bit managerial skills and also applying a broad range of employability skills learned through a range of experience.
While there is no singular definition of employability, Yorke (2014) defines employability as a set of achievement – skills, understanding and personal attributes that make graduate more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and economy. Employability is not the same as gaining a graduate. Rather it implies something about the capacity of the graduate to function in a job and to be able to move between jobs, thus remaining employable throughout their life by acquiring specific skills.
Microsoft Encarta Dictionary (2019) defines skills as the ability to do something well, usually through training or experience. It further explained that skill is expertness, practical dexterity and tact. Skills can be often being divided into domain – general and domain specific skills. For example, in the domain work, some general skills would include time management, teamwork and leadership, self-motivation and others, whereas domain – specific skills would be useful only or a certain job. Skills usually required certain environmental stimuli and situation to access the level of skill being shown and used. As the interest is promoted breakdown and taxonomies of particular skills and attributes required to promote graduate employability such as core skills; key skills, common skills, transferable skills, essential skill functional skills, skills for life general skills and enterprise skills. We take employability skills to be the skills almost everyone needs to do almost any job. They are the skills that must be present to enable an individual to use the most specific knowledge and technical skills that their particular workplace requires.
Managerial skills according to International Labour Organization (2022), are skills essential for conceiving, starting and managing a business enterprise. A managerial skill is one of such basic skill required to facilitate appropriate and maximum utilization of people in productive activities that would produce variety of goods and services. Managerial skills are necessary to plan, lunch and successfully manage business enterprises which can be acquired through the study of business education.
Osuala (2014), defines business education as a programme of instruction which consist of two parts: Officer education, a vocational educational programme for office careers through initial, refresher and upgrading education leading to employment with advancement in office occupation, and general business education, a programme which provide students information and competencies which are needed by all managing personal business affairs and in using the services of the business world. Business education programme should specific education of meet professional goal of students.
According to Imeokparia and Ediagbonye (2019), the business education graduate is one who has complete a course of study in business education in higher institutions of learning and been certified both character and in learning to pursue a career in business education or business placement. Azuka (2016), also stated that business education graduate, having passing through the business education programme in higher institution of learning should have all it takes to understand careers, job opportunity and employment requirement in the broad field of business. The author stated that graduates are meant to develop skills, attitudes and personal habits which form a basis for further development of employable competencies. The business education graduates employability skills that a business education graduate needs and must acquire to gain employment, progress, and advance and excel in business establishment or in his/her area of job specification. Considering that many graduate of business education are today unemployed, one can easily suspected that the graduate may not have the necessary managerial skills for organizing business especially in medium enterprises. The suspicion makes it an imperative to determine the managerial skills required by business education graduates for employability in medium enterprises.
Statement of the Problem
The revolution being witnessed today in our labour market occasioned with the everyday emergence of new technologies have now made employers to continuously demand much from their actual and would be employees. A major concern of graduate now should be on what constitute employability skills as the skills possessed by graduates seems to be different from what the employees want. It is therefore necessary that a business education graduate equips himself with all that it takes in terms of skills, knowledge, attitudes, competencies and abilities to meet the increasing job demands by employers, hence availing themselves the opportunity to fit into the world work.
It is observed that despite the alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria, the title space in the labour market is being occupied by technological advancement and increasing demands for employers, hence any business education graduate with outdated skills will be shown the way out for the labour market. So, the need for business education graduates to be equipped with all the necessary employability skills to continuously remain relevant in the world of work becomes imperative. Business education graduates in the labour have not actually possessed all the skills they need to secure job, progress on job, and advance on the job. The current spate of unemployment in Nigeria, increased competition in the labour market and the increasing job demands by employers make it highly imperative skills that will distinguish them in the world of work. So, the employability skills when identified will no doubt, enable them to gain a job as a manager, progress in the job and the advance in the job.
As a result of the incompetency and underperformance in the part of business education graduate in the field of work, the researcher finds it necessary to research on the managerial skills required by business education for employability in medium scale enterprises in Asaba metropolis.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study;
- What is the extent of financial management skills required by business
education graduates for employability in Medium Enterprises as perceived by Business graduate in Asaba metropolis? - What is the extent that human resources management skills required of
business education graduates for employability in Medium Enterprises in Asaba metropolis? - To what extent could time management skills be required of business
education for employability in Medium Enterprises in Asaba metropolis? - To what extent could information and communication skills be required
of business education graduates for employability in Medium Enterprises in Asaba metropolis?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find out the managerial skills required by business education graduates for employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis.
Specifically, this study sought to find out:
- The financial management skills required by business education graduate
for employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis. - Human Resources management skills required by business education
graduates for employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis. - Time management skills required by business education graduates for
employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis. - Information and communication management skills required by business
education graduates for employability in medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis.
Significance of the Study
The study could be of benefit to the following in many ways; the undergraduates and graduates, the employers of labour, the teachers, the educational authorities, curriculum planners, the government, medium scale business operators and other researchers.
The undergraduate when they are in their various schools of learning and the graduates whenever they are in their various place of employment, the financial management skills will help them for successful operation of a business enterprise as this will equip them with the requisite knowledge and abilities to source for and obtain loans easily, to prepare and interpret simple financial statement. The information and communication skills could enable them together and analyze vital data and information required for business operations. The time management skill could provide them a guide for understanding the relation between important, not important, urgent activities. The human resources management skills could grant them the ability understand, observe lead and control the behavior of other individuals and group.
The employer of labour could greatly benefit from this study when looking for employees because they know the skills they are looking for in the employees. This will make them as the need to retain their staff in relevant professional trainings from recognized and registered professional bodies both locally and internationally like Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), America Marketing Association (AMA) etc.
This will help the business education teacher in the perception of the important of management skills for job success and the extent of which these skills were inculcated in the students and preparing them for the world of work. This study will help the business educator to identify the financial management, human resources management, and time management and information and communication skill.
The educational authorities especially lecturers could benefit from this study when lecturing in the lecture room because they will know the exact skill to inculcate into the students.
The curriculum planers in the ministry of education could greatly benefit from this study because they will be fully informed on the managerial skills required by business education graduate for employability. Therefore, whenever they are planning or designing the curriculum they will know which skills that will encourage and those not to encourage.
Government could really benefit from this study because they could be informed through this study, these employability skills required by business education graduates. With this knowledge and information, they will not be at lost when looking for employment. Apart from that, the government could be informed on the need for graduates to have managerial skills. The study could also help government whenever they are conducting interview for employment. Whenever a seminar or workshop is organized for business education graduates they will know the skills which should be encourage to possess technical skills, interpersonal skills and communication skill.
Other researchers could benefit from this study, those employability skills required by business education graduates with this knowledge and information, they will be able to add to the new work or research they are carrying out or doing these skills that are really needed for employability outside the technical skills, interpersonal skills and communication skills that has been there by the researcher.
The findings of this study could expose business education undergraduates and graduates to the areas of lack of managerial skills required for proper running of medium enterprises. The employers of labour will benefit through this study and exposes the areas of managerial skills needed for employability and how to identify such skills so as not to employ the wrong individual,
Scope/Delimitation of the Study
This study is delimited to the managerial skills required of business education students for employability in medium enterprise as perceived by business education in Asaba metropolis. The study is restricted to technical skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills needed by business education students for employability in medium enterprises as perceived by business educators and it covers medium enterprises in Asaba metropolis.
Limitation of the study
This study faces certain limitations during the course of the study. Like any other human endeavour, the researcher encounters some difficulties as discussed below.
Firstly, choosing the topic of this study, constructing and administering the instrument and getting it validated, were not an easy exercise.
Secondly, time to which this research work was carried out was not enough, though it would have been quite beneficial if this research work was carried out in the whole of Delta State but time given for the completion of this research work would not be enough for such wide range of study.
Thirdly, the cost of gathering information from internet as well as the financial strength to cover a wide range of sample was not at the disposal of the researcher.
Finally, gathering information and locating the respondent was not an easy task as some were busy while some were not readily available.
Definition of Terms
- Employability: This is the ability to be employed, to maintain employment and make transitions between jobs.
- Skill: This is the learning ability to carry out a task with predetermined result often within a given amount of time, energy or both.
- Managerial Skill: This is the essential skill for starting and managing a
- Management: This is the art of getting things done in the organization through others.
Pages: 62
Category: Project
Format: Word & PDF
Chapters: 1-5
Source: Imsuinfo
Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.
